Taiwan-U.S. Trade Deal Requires Legislative Approval, Says Cabinet

Taipei: The Executive Yuan emphasized that any reciprocal trade agreement between Taiwan and the U.S. must receive approval from the Legislative Yuan, reinforcing Taiwan's stance that legislative review is essential for the agreement to become effective. According to Focus Taiwan, the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) under the Cabinet informed reporters that Taiwan's negotiating team had clearly communicated from the initial round of in-person discussions with the United States that the agreement would contain a "reservation" clause, adhering to Taiwan's legal framework. The comments emerged amidst media scrutiny of developments in South Korea, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of increasing tariffs on certain Korean products due to the failure of South Korea's national assembly to approve a trade deal reached the previous year. Addressing media inquiries, the OTN reiterated that Taiwan had clearly stated the necessity for legislative approval early in the negotiations with Washington. Taiwan and the U.S. reached several agreements during a concluding meeting on January 15, including reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, while not adding them to existing most-favored-nation rates. On the same day, Taiwan and the U.S. Department of Commerce signed an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU), as reported by the OTN. The Executive Yuan has expressed that once the Taiwan-U.S. reciprocal trade agreement is signed, it will present the agreement along with the investment MOU to the Legislative Yuan, hoping for lawmakers' support for the deals.